The objective of the regional preparatory meetings were to contribute to successful meetings of the conferences of the Parties (COPs) in 2017 by giving regions the possibility to consult each other in advance of the COPs, consider meeting documents, discuss substantive matters, identify regional priorities and challenges, and facilitate the preparation of regional positions.
In order to assist Parties in preparing for the back-to-back meetings, the conferences of the Parties in 2015 requested the Executive Secretary to support, within available resources, regional meetings to assist regional preparatory processes, coordinated with other regional meetings (decisions BC-12/23, RC-7/13 and SC-7/31).
The meetings were held as follows (please click on the meetings below for further information):
These preparatory meetings were organized in close cooperation with the bureaux members of the concerned regions.
All four meetings were organized in close cooperation with the interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention and discussed relevant issues of common interest to the four conventions. Additionally, the interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention organized working sessions back-to-back with the regional preparatory meetings of 1-day duration in the Africa and the Central and Eastern Europe regions, and 2-days duration in the Asia-Pacific and the Latin American and Caribbean regions, to address regional specific issues related to ratification and early implementation of the Minamata Convention (e.g. artisanal and small-scale gold mining, contaminated sites, etc.).
The meetings were held thanks to the generous financial contributions from the Government of Switzerland .